District



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(N0 Modelj T. L. HOLBROOK & SCH U 3310K DRIER. No. 579,579. PatentedMai". 30,1897.

an Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. L. HOLBROOKK G. SGHU. BRIGK DRIER.

No. 579,579. Patented Mar. 30, 1897.

lhvan'ar s 7 Wm @Ma IHE NOnms PETER: rs, FNOTO-LIYHQ, waswmuromm c (NoModel.) 3 Sheets-Sheet "3.

T. L. HOLBROOK 8: G. SCHU.

BRICK DRIER.

Patented Mar. 30, 1897.

Iwven/Zvrs lJNrrnn STATES PATENT Orricn.

THEODORE L. HOLBROOK AND CHARLES SOIIU, OF IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

BRICK-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,579, dated March30, 1897. Application filed April 11, 1896- Serial No. 587,195. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern: temperature. The period of drying is short-Be it known that we, THEODORE L. HOL- ened and a greater uniformity ofproduct ob- BROOK and CHARLES SOHU, of Washington, tained. The fines,moreover, are readily ac- District of Columbia, have invented new andcessible for purposes of cleaning, little time 5 useful Improvements inBrick-Driers, which being lost in that operation. The arrangeare fullyset forth in the following specificament also effects economy in fuel inthat the tion. heat is utilized to a greater degree than here- Thepresent invention has reference to tofore, and the system of lines issuch that driers for bricks, but may, wholly or in part, but a singlefurnace may be used, or, if de- 60 be used for other purposes. sired,two or more furnaces may be put into Ordinarily in drying bricks by theheat of operation, the main distributing-flue being a furnace orfurnaces the bricks loaded upon common to a plurality of furnaces.suitable cars are run into the drying-cham- The structure is simplifiedby placing the ber, the smoke and gases from the furnace circhimney atone end of a common discharge- 6 I5 culating through said chamber,making conflue, and space is thereby utilized to the best tact with thebricks, and passing out through advantage. the chimney located at somecentral or inter- In a drier constructed according to our inmediatepoint. In such an arrangement the vention the products from the furnacedo not deposit of soot and other refuse in the drypass through thedrying-chamber, but are 70 2o ing-chamber and upon the bricks isobjecconducted through suitable flues extending tionable and is to acertain extent injurious beneath said chamber and inclosed by heatto thebricks themselves. Brick-driers have radiating covers, preferably of aconcavoalso been constructed withpipes for the prodconvex form, looselyplaced in position, so nets of combustion extending through the thatthey can be readily removed for the pur- 75 drying-chamber. This plan isalso objecpose of cleaning the flues. These heating tionable, owing tothe difficulty of getting acflues are connected at one end with adiscess to the interior of the pipes for the purtributing-flue extendinghorizontally at right pose of cleaning the same. Much difficulty anglesthereto and communicating with the has also been heretofore experiencedon aofurnace or furnaces, so that one furnace is 80 count of a lack ofuniformity of temperature. or may be utilized to feed a number of the inthe heating-chamber, resulting in a come heatingflues,therebyeffectingaconsiderable sponding lack of uniformity in the productsaving in fuel. The heating-fines are enand in a great loss of time. Thelocating of larged at their ends opening into thedistribthechimneyatacentralorintermediate point uting-flue and havingupwardly curved or 8 between the ends of the apparatus also ininclinedbottoms, whereby the flames and volves complexity of structure withreference gases are deflected upwardly against the covto adjacent parts,greatly interferes with the ers to more efficiently heat the same. Atcompact assemblage of the car-tracks through their exit ends theheating-fines are led into thedrying-chamber, andalso entails sacrificea discharge-flue. In order that there may 90 of Valuable space withinthe drier. The obbe an equalization of the draft through the ject oflocating the flue centrally was to equalseveral ilues, the openingstherefrom into ize so far as possible the temperature in the thedischarge-flue are of different sizes, the drying-chamber; but thisresult is attained openings increasing in size from that which by thepresent invention in a structure which is nearest the chimney to thatwhich is the 9 5 5 has the flue located at one end. most distanttherefrom. From the top of the We have devised a drying apparatus whichdrying chamber and extending the entire in practice realizes thefollowing advanta- Width thereof is a passage-way or exit ex geousresults, among others: The heating-- tending upwardly and opening intothe air. fines are so arranged as -to radiate the heat Located in thisexit-passage is a damper 100 effectively into the drying-chamber and towhich may be adjusted to regulate the es maintain therein anapproximately uniform cape of steam or Vapor produced by the action ofthe heat upon the water contained in the bricks.

Other features of the invention will be understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein wehave shown what is deemed the best embodiment of our invention inpractical form, and wherein- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through aIO drying-chamber, furnace, &c., embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is aview, partlyin plan and partly in horizontal section, showing thearrangement of the tracks, flues, &c. Fig. 3 is an elevation, partlybroken away, taken from the right of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail of thecross-flue at the rear of the drier, and Fig. 5 is a detail of one ofthe covers for the heating-fines.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the shed or housing built overthe dryingchamber B, the latter being constructed of sheet metal.Chamber B has an exit-passage 1) leading upwardly therefrom and extending the entire width of the chamber. Damper h is placed in this passageand may be adjusted to permit the escape of steam or vapors from thechamber and to regulate the temperature thereof. Exit 1) is preferablylocated at the side of the chamber opposite 0 that under which thefurnace or furnaces are situated. In operation the damper l) is at firstkept shut to retain as much heat as possible in the chamber, but as theair therein becomes charged with vapor the damper is 5 opened to permitits escape.

At opposite sides of chamber B are horizontally-swun g doors B, whichmay be opened for the entrance or exit of cars 0, laden with bricks.

Upon the plan illustrated in the drawings, which show two of a series ofdrying-chambers arranged side by side, there are sixlongitudinalheating-flues D beneath each chamber, which fiues, aspreferably constructed, are about square in cross-section, beingsomef-what enlarged at their ends, where they communieate with adistributing-flue.. E in..front and discharge-flue F at the rear of thedrier, these fines extending at right angles to said 5 heating-fines. Attheir enlarged ends, open- 1 ing into the main distributing-flue E, theflues D have an upwardly-curved bottom cl, whereby the flames and gasesfrom the furnace are deflected upwardly against the 5 5 covers, referredto hereinafter, to utilize more completely the heat of the furnace.

Corresponding to each drying-chamber are three furnaces Gr G G, onefurnace for every two of the heating-fines. The heating efiects of eachfurnace are not confined, however, to any two particular flues, as allof the f urnace communicates with the common distributingfiue E, int0which lines D open. As shown in the drawings, the dues E and F arecommon to the furnaces of all of the driers of the series. When it isdesired to use only one or more of, the series, so much of thedistributing-fiue E as corresponds therewith may be divided off bystopping up the flue with clay at proper points, so as to confine theheating effects of the furnace within the desired size, as shown in Fig.4, those farthest from the chimney being the largest, with a graduateddiminution in size as they approach the chimney, the purpose of sucharrangement being to equalize the draft.

The tops of the fines O are formed by metallic covers 0 ofconcave-convex form, the convexity being toward the chamber,whereby theheat is radiated into the latter. These covers overlap each other attheir ends and in practice are covered by a thin layer of sand closelyfilling in the joints. The rails 7t h for the cars O are arranged oneach side of the covers, so that the cars standing thereon are directlyabove the flues D.

As shown in Fig. 2, the chimney I is located at the end of the buildingnear the side thereof along which the discharge-flue E extends. It is insuch position as not to interfere with laying the rails closely togetherand the passage of the car in at one side of the drying-chamber and outat the other.

In operation the products of combustion from the furnaces Gr passthrough distributing-flue E and into heating-flues D, heating thecovers, from which the heat is radiated into the drying-chamber.

The number of heating-fines and of furnaces employed may of course be Ivaried within wide limits, and the invention is not restricted to theprecise arrangement illustrated.

Havin g thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a drierforbricks,the combination with a drying-chamber, of aseriesof furnaces, a horizontal distributing-flue extending along oneside of said chamber and with which each of the furnaces communicates, across-flue parallel to the distributing-flue on the opposite side ofsaid chamber and having at one end a chimney, and a series ofheating-flues extending from the distributing-flue to the cross-flue,the tops of said flues being of heatradiating material, and separatingthe fines from the dryin g-chamber, substantially as described.

22. Inadrierforbricks,the combination with the drying-chamber, of afurnace, a horizontal distributing-flue extending along one side of saidchamber, a cross-flue parallel to the distributing-flue on the oppositeside of said chamber and having at one end a chimney, and a series ofheating-fines extending from the distributing-flue to the cross-flue,the tops of said flues being formed of concave-convex removable metalliccovers, whereby direct access can be had to the fines from the chamber,substantially as described.

3. Inadrier for bricks,the combination with a drying-chamber, of afurnace, a horizontal distributing-flue extending along one side of saidchamber, a cross-flue parallel to the distributingflue on the oppositeside of said chamber and having at one end a chimney, and a series ofheating-fines extending from the distributing-flue to the cross-flue,the discharge-openings of the heating-fines being of differentdimensions, increasing in size from that nearest the chimney to thatfarthest therefrom, whereby uniformity of draft and heating effect inthe several fines is maintained, substantially as described.

4. In a drier for bricks,the combination with a dryingchamber having aseries of tracks for the cars containing bricks to be dried, of

a furnace, a distributing-flue extending along 20 one side of saidchamber transverse to the tracks, a series of heating-fines eachconnected with said distributing-flue and extending beneath the chamberparallel With said tracks each flue being separated from said chamber 25by removable heat-radiating covers, the several covers occupying thespace between the tracks, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We have signed this specification in the presenceof tWo subscrib- 3o

